House Flipping

Guest post from: Steve Delaney

I’ve grown up listening to my grandfather talk about how when he was down on his luck he would pick himself up by his bootstraps and try again. Thanks Grandpa for the guidance that you provided all those years ago, because now, that is exactly what I’m going to do. After my company closed its doors, I thought that my world would crumble around me. However, thanks to my Dad teaching me how to be a saver, I’ve now got a small fund to start out on my own. With my expertise being in the construction industry, there were not very many places that I could turn to for employment. Instead, I’ve decided to take matters into my own hands. I’ve done a lot of research lately on flipping houses and with my knowledge of construction and the small amount of funds that I’ve managed to stock away; I think that I’ll be able to turn a profit easily. However, being in the construction industry, I am also very aware of the theft problems surrounding new and renovated properties. To protect my new investment, I did a search for home security SYSTEMS indiana and found a company that could install a security system in my newly purchased home. Now that I have the peace of mind that a security system is in my new house, I can focus on making the necessary renovations so that I can resale the house for a profit.

My 5 Monday!!! - Fave things of 2011!

Wow it has been a long time!!! I hope I actually still have people that read my actual posts!! Well I thought it was about time to do some year in review posts so what better way to start than with "My 5 Monday"!! This week I will be discussing my 5 favorite discoveries of 2011. These may be brand new things from this year, or they could be a few years old, but I just recently discovered them! Enjoy!!

1. iPhone 4S

This is the first iPhone I have ever owned. I have had ATT for as long as I can remember, but I just now got the iPhone. I figured if I was going to wait as long as I did to get it, I might as well get the newest one right? Let me just say, I LOVE it. I seriously discover something new just about every day. There really is an app for everything!! You want to reward me for walking into stores Shopkick app? Alright I will accept! You want to provide me with basically a free GPS system, Mapquest app? I will accept!! Oh and don't even get me started on my addiction to Words with Friends (which is actually Scrabble with a diff name!). Siri is pretty cool too. She answers most of my questions and the ones she doesn't now the answer to, she apologizes. I actually ask her random things every now and then just to see what she says :). I love you iPhone!!

2. The Big Bang Theory

Yes I am aware this show has been on for, I believe, five seasons now. However, I just started watching it recently (gotta love syndication!!). It is becoming my new favorite show though!! It takes a lot to knock out Friends, but this one may be coming close to it (actually nothing really beats Friends, but this one isn't far behind). I don't know what the heck they are talking about a good amount of time, but somehow it still entertains me greatly. This show actually makes me laugh out loud. Sheldon, Leonard, Penny, and their friends that dress like they are from "That 70's Show", are just too funny!! If you have yet to see it, I HIGHLY recommend it!!!

3. Social Network

I am aware that this movie came out last year. I also am aware that it was nominated for multiple Oscars. Still, I was hesitant to believe that a movie about Facebook could actually entertain me. I was wrong. It started out slow, but once Justin Timberlake entered the scene, it got a lot better (as do most things). Like "The Big Bang Theory", I don't know what the heck they are saying sometimes, but that doesn't seem to stop me from watching it and being intrigued. Pretty cool to see how Facebook actually got started too! Once again, I recommend watching!!

4. The Voice

Watch out American Idol, The Voice is right in your rear view mirror! This show first caught my interest with the previews and the fact that they had FOUR current, popular singers as judges. I mean American Idol got better this season, but Steven Tyler is a little dated isn't he?? The Voice judges consist of Adam Levine from Maroon 5, Cee Lo Green, Christina Aguilara, and Blake Shelton. All pretty big names in their respectable genres. Add in the fact that everyone can sing pretty darn well and you have an amazing show! Of course the concept of the show is for the judges to pick their teams based on voice alone and not on looks. Looks and personality can of course play a part in the later rounds, but they were originally picked on their voices, and all the contestants this year were great. Javier Colon was the winner of this season (who you can check out below...AMAZING!!!). The show will be back for a second season this winter, premiering after the Super Bowl. Can't get a better lead in than that now can you??

5. Detroit Tigers

    

So I am obsessed with the Detroit Tigers, and this season they did not disappoint. They started out a little slow, but had a fantastic second half. They made it to the playoffs, beat the Yankees in the first round before getting knocked out in a tooth and nail fight by the Texas Rangers. MY Tiger, Justin Verlander, had an amazing season himself, which included a no hitter. He ended the season by winning both the Cy Young award and the AL MVP. He will also be gracing the cover of MLB 2K12 next year, which I will be buying for that reason alone. Looking forward to next season!!!

So there you have it, my completely random list of favorite things from 2011. What were some of your favorite things of the year, be it new things from 2011, or things you just discovered in 2011? Let me know in the comments, that way I will know people actually read this thing still!!!

My Crazy Life

Guest post written by my buddy Fidel Hernandez

When I moved last month it was such a relief to find clear tv bundle packages. Moving is so tough to begin with that it was just so nice to be able to get multiple home services from one company. I didn’t want to move, but my family needed more space, so I was left without a choice. I was not looking forward to all the extra work a move would entail. Life has become so fast-paced since having kids that sometimes I feel like everything is spinning out of control. If I’m not cooking and cleaning, I’m dropping the kids off at school, or taking one to a play date. I really underestimated how hard it was going to be to be a stay at home mom. I figured my life would become much less complicated, but boy, was I wrong! The kids and my husband are just so demanding that I forget to do important things all the time. It is really helpful to have my cable and internet consolidated into one monthly bill. Not only is it easier to send one payment, it’s much easier to track my money when I only have to send one payment.

Heaven is For Real- Review

I have recently been trying to read more books, and heard many of my co-workers talking about the book "Heaven is For Real" and had to check it out for myself!! "Heaven is For Real" is the true story of a four year old boy's trip to heaven. While on a family vacation, little Colton had become sick with what his parents thought was the flu. Doctor's at one hospital can't say what it IS, but they do rule out appendicitis. After a couple days of Colton not getting better, his parents decide to check him out of the hospital and take him to a different one to get a second opinion. There he is diagnosed with a ruptured appendix. A week later after having surgery, Colton is headed out of the hospital and is in the elevator when his doctor yells for his parents to stop. Colton's white blood count is up and it is found that he has three more abscesses which require more surgery. A few days later, the doctor tells the family there is nothing more he can do and refers them to a children's hospital, the only problem is there is a snow storm and the family is unable to leave. Somehow the next day Colton is recovering amazingly well and is soon discharged home for good. The hospital staff are without words. A few months later while riding in the car with his family, Colton starts talking about his trip to heaven. He tells his parents that he visited heaven while the doctor was working on him and could see his family praying for him. Throughout the next several months he begins to tell them more of his trip. He talks about meeting his great grandpa who had died 23 years before Colton was even born and also of the sister that his mother had miscarried. His family is speechless since they had never talked to Colton about either of these people, yet he knows many details about them. He also talks about Jesus, God's throne, the battle of good and evil, and what heaven is really like. He tells his dad that "nobody is old in heaven". While looking at various pictures of Jesus, he is able to tell his family what is wrong with each one of them.

Now for my opinion of the book. Let me start by saying that this book was written by Colton's father based on what Colton has told him. Yes, Colton's dad is a pastor. Therefore there are several passages from the bible that go along with what Colton has described to his father. It is also considered a true story. Obviously there are going to be people that think it isn't true, but I guess the only people that truly know are Colton and his family. If you are not a believer, then this is not the book for you. However, if you do believe there is a heaven, you will LOVE this book. It makes you feel good to know that when you leave this world, you will be reunited with loved ones and that they really are in a better place. I really enjoyed it myself! Highly recommended!!

I received this book in exchange for my HONEST opinion. I was not required to give a positive review, but I actually did enjoy it immensely! 

The Social Network- Review

So I have been HORRIBLE at watching movies lately. When I first joined Netflix I would watch a movie every weekend, so it was worth it for me to keep my subscription. The last two movies I have rented from there I have kept for almost 2 months EACH. So I basically could've bought the darn movies for cheaper than I paid to rent them. Oh well. I did finally get around to watching "The Social Network" though. I think I may be the last person in the country to see it, but I finally did. I'd have to say, I liked it pretty well too. It was actually one of those movies that while I was watching it I thought "yea I guess this is pretty good", but then after it was over and I thought about it more I thought "Wow that really was a great movie, I will definitely have to watch it again". Have you ever seen any movies like that?? I actually feel a little smarter after watching it too. It's kind of like that show "The Big Bang Theory", in the sense that I don't actually have a clue what they are talking about half the time, but if I can make it through it without getting too lost I give myself credit. Unlike "Jersey Shore", where I actually feel stupider after sitting through an entire eppy.

So for those of you who haven't seen it (if there actually IS anyone that fits that description), "The Social Network" is about the creation of Facebook. After breaking up with his girlfriend, Mark Zuckerberg decides to create a website called facemash.com.. In order to do this he hacks into various universities online facebooks to get the pics of the female students from. The site is all about comparing to female students and clicking on the one that is "hotter". Well after getting 22,000 hits in two hours, the network crashes and Mark is almost suspended from Harvard. He then is approached by three guys who want him to work on their site, a place where Harvard students could make their own page which contains their names, pics, relationship status, info, etc. Well Mark decides to expand on this idea all on his own and ends up creating "The Facebook". "The Facebook" is at first only open to Harvard students, but ends up expanding to other schools gradually. I should add of course that Mark founded this site with his best friend, Eduardo, who put up the money for the site to get going. Mark and Eduardo end up meeting with Sean Parker (the creator of Napster) and he becomes a partner too (much to Eduardo's chargin). Well eventually, the "The" is dropped and Facebook is up to one million members. Poor Eduardo ends up getting cut out of the ownership and Mark ends up getting sued by the guys that originally wanted to create the Harvard site and Eduardo. I won't spoil the entire movie, so I won't post how it ends.

It was a pretty great movie. Jesse Eisenberg does a great job and his sarcasm is pretty amusing. Andrew Garfield plays Eduardo, who is pretty amazing also. Sean Parker is played by Justin Timberlake, which actually made me hate JT for a while, but I guess that is just because he did an amazing job also. Great acting all around, I can DEFINITELY see why this movie and its cast were nominated for Oscars. If you actually haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend it! Check out the clips below, one is the trailer, and the other is the confrontation between Mark and Eduardo.

Up next: Book review of "Heaven is For Real"!!! Check back soon!!

Sorry :(

So sorry for the lack of updates lately!!!! There will be some coming soon I promise!!

Renting College Textbooks= BEST IDEA EVER!!!!

Well I am sure many of my blog readers have either been through college, are currently in college, or will be having children attending college in the near future. For those of us who have been through the lovely higher education experience, we all know of the extremely high cost of textbooks. Now luckily I had scholarships that covered the cost of all or almost all of my books, but not everyone does. I do remember going to the student book store and having them ring up all the prices of my books and being extremely glad that I didn't have to pay out of pocket for them. I always wished I could just rent the text books and return them when I was done with them. I kept the books that were related to my major, but I sure as heck didn't need to keep my algebra book, so I went and sold that baby right back as soon as the semester was over. Of course I didn't get nearly what I paid for it, but got a pretty decent amount. The books that they were giving me a decent amount for I just kept though. The book below would be one of those:

The list price is almost $150 and when I went to have them buy it back (in mint condition!), they were offering me $15. Seriously?!?! Are you kidding me! You are giving me 10% back of a perfectly good book. Um no thanks. So now six years after being out of college I am still stuck with this stupid book.

I really wish I had known about CampusBookRentals.com when I was in school. This is a website that allows you to rent books for either a semester, quarter, or summer (you can also enter the exact number of days you would need the book and they will give you a custom price). For example, I entered the name of the lovely book shown above and learned that I could have rented it for the semester (130 days), for $18.41!!!! Seriously?!?!  That is 88% off the list price! Oh and did I mention that shipping is free BOTH ways! For those of us that like to highlight important points, that is allowed in these rented books also. How can you beat these prices...seriously?!

When I decide I want to pursue a different career and return to college, you can bet I will be renting my books from Campus Book Rentals. No more paying absurd amounts of money for books I won't use when I am done with the class. Oh and as an added bonus, they donate a portion of their proceeds to Operation Smile. For those who don't know, Operation Smile performs surgery on children who have a cleft lip, who otherwise wouldn't be able to afford it. So you are saving yourself a boatload of money and helping kids at the same time. How can you beat that?!

I was contacted to do this review, but would definitely use this site personally!

Blockbuster Total Access???

If you remember a year or so ago, I posted a blog about the Netlix for Wii. It was a positive review too. I absolutely loved it. I had only signed up for Netflix about a month before posting that and was pleasantly surprised when they sent me a disc to put in my Wii that would allow me to access movies and TV shows whenever I wanted. Now of course when I had joined Netflix, I was only planning on receiving the DVDs in the mail, the instant streaming through my Wii was just a lovely, free added bonus. However, this past summer when they announced that they were going to charge 40% more for access to both mail and streaming I was highly annoyed, as were thousands of other subscribers. I worked through my annoyance though and just canceled the streaming service and stayed subscribed to the mail service. Recently though, Netflix decided to make more major changes. They decided to SPLIT the DVD and streaming services completely. Now in order to add movies to your streaming queue you would log onto the Netflix site like you always did, but to get them in the mail you were going to have to go to an entirely different site. They decided to name the mail order company "Quixster". This is what finally sent me to jump on the bus of people canceling their accounts with Netflix. So I have erased my queue and as soon as I watch "The Social Network" I will be sending it back and ending my membership with them. I'm kinda sad about this too. I loved being able to just pay one fee and get as many movies in a month that I wanted and open my mailbox to see my lovely red envelope. Too many changes in too short of a time though Mr. CEO of Netflix!

So, now to the title of my post. Recently I saw a commercial for Blockbuster Total Access which apparently is very similar to the way Netflix used to be. The commercial advertised that you can rent as many movies AND GAMES a month for under $10. Of course they have different subscription packages so obviously not all of them are under $10. However, this sounds like a great alternative for me. Actually it sounds even better because I will be able to rent games for my Wii and test them out before spending $30-50 on them just to find out they aren't as fun as I thought. I will be most definitely signing up soon and will let you all know how good or bad this service actually is!

Does anyone currently have Blockbuster Total Access now? If so, are you happy with it?

Taking Time to Watch This Season's Sons of Anarchy

Guest post written by Cathy Ruman

I got so caught up in work and all kinds of family when the last season of Sons of Anarchy was on TV. It really was just way too much for me and I was really sad that I wasn't able to keep up with one of my favorite shows like I wish I could have. Well, I decided to make it a priority to watch this season as something indulgent for me. Besides, you can't really enjoy life unless you take care of yourself a little too. So that's exactly what I've been doing so far while watching this season.

 

I used my Internet Service Provider to figure out what time it was coming on and help move around my schedule a little bit on my Google calendars to ensure that I could watch the show without worrying about other things in my life. It's no good watching TV if you're worried about other things while your'e watching it.

 

This Sons of Anarchy season certainly isn't disappointing so far! But then again, I didn't really expect it to. I can always expect some really great things from the show and it sure does deliver like I like it to!

September 11- 10th Anniversary

So here we are 10 years after the horrible attacks that changed America forever. I posted last year about where I was that day, which you can find HERE. Therefore I won't do that again. We all know where we were that day and will never forget it. So instead I will post a few YouTube videos remembering these horrible events. I will also be spending the evening watching some of the specials that are on. Yes they are depressing, but this is a day of remembering the heroes of that day and all of the innocent lives that were lost.

This is the flag that will be flying in NYC today. Obviously the towers are represented in the center outlined by the Pentagon with stars that represent the lives lost in Flight 93.

Love him and love this song!!

Home Improvement Reunion 2011!!!

So if you are a frequent reader of my blog, you know of the obsession I had with the TV show "Home Improvement" as a child, pre-teen, and teen. Of course back then this obsession had to do with nothing else except for JTT!! I of course like the show for its humor and because it reminds me of my childhood and the simpler times. So you can imagine my excitement when I saw on the EW.com site this pic of the Home Improvement cast reunited:

So first let me just make a few observations about the above photo:

• Patricia Richardson aka Jill, does not look ANY different whatsoever!
• I have no clue what happened to Zachary Ty Bryan aka Brad. He was so cute when the show ended!
• Debbie Dunn aka Heidi looks worse only because it looks like she has had a little too much plastic surgery
• Tim Allen looks good, albeit a little older. He obviously has been in showbiz since Home Improvement ended though so I wasn't surprised by his looks since I have seen him many times since then.
• Richard Karn looks pretty good, albeit older also. Nice to see him wearing the flannel still :)
• Taran Noah Smith aka Mark looks different from when the show first started (obviously since he was only 6!), but not too much different from when it ended.
• It is sooo nice to see Jonathan Taylor Thomas aka Randy in the pic!!! If anyone else is a fan of the show you are probably aware that he left during the final season and didn't return for the finale. Rumor was that Tim Allen was pretty upset by this (which is understandable). It says in the article (which you can find on www.EW.com, that the photo shoot was the first time Tim and Patricia had seen him since 1998!! Soo happy to hear that!! He is still the best looking of the boys too!! Doesn't look 30 at all!

EW.com also has another great article about Home Improvement, which you can find HERE. Since today is JTT's 30th (yes you read that right) birthday they also made an article just for him, that you can find HERE. Let me just say that the EW writers are becoming some of my favorite people since they clearly are just as obsessed with the 90's as I am :) This cast reunion will be featured with many others from various TV shows in a special Reunions issue of Entertainment Weekly which will be available Oct. 7. I just subscribed to this mag tonight (actually restarted my subscription) and received a free retro t-shirt (I chose the Bayside Tigers one). The best part is, it only cost me $20 for 52 issues and the t-shirt :)

Hope you enjoyed reading! Were you a fan of "Home Improvement" back in the 90's? What do you think about the cast reunion photo? Who are you most surprised to see??

Orlando Here I Come.....Soon!!!

I love to travel and one place in the great United States that I have yet to be is Florida. Yes, seriously this Michigan gal has never been to the Sunshine State, but I plan on making that one of my near future trips. Oh and you can bet that when I do make it there I will most definitely be visiting Walt Disney World, whether I have children with me or not!

While I was searching for Hotels in Orlando, I came across the beautiful Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin resort hotel. Seriously it looks so beautiful!!! Check out some of the pictures below and you will see what I mean.

This would be the outside of the hotel. So unique looking and a great view!!

Lobby of the Dolphin Hotel.

Lobby of the Swan Hotel

This is just one of the FIVE heated pools that is located at the resort. Absolutely gorgeous!!

Beautiful bar for the adults to visit.

One of the guestrooms. The beds look nice and comfy to me!!

Kids (and adults) would love to dine with their favorite Disney characters, which is also included in the resort.

Love it!!

Some other great features of the Swan and Dolphin Resort include tennis, basketball, and volleyball courts; a health club, which you can follow up with a trip to the relaxing spa; a game room for the kids; an art gallery and much more! Since it is a Disney resort, you also get complimentary scheduled transportation through the park and extra park hours!

Whenever I do make it to Orlando, you can bet I will be trying to get a room here!!

YouTube Tuesday!!!!

Look everyone, its the return of "YouTube Tuesday"!!!! I just looked back through my blog and saw that I haven't done one of these since May, so I decided it needed a big introduction :). YouTube Tuesday used to be one of my favorite topics on here, so I am glad to be bringing it back. Sorry for the lack of updates throughout the summer :(. Whenever I would get online I would be addicted to all those darn facebook games, but I am starting to get bored of them so back to blogging!!! So to kick off the return of YouTube Tuesday, I am chosing a video by someone who you have seen featured here in the past and will most likely be seeing here in the future. That person is Tyler Ward. Tyler Ward was actually the feature of my last YouTube Tuesday, so that kinda tells you how much I love him huh? This time he is singing "Somewhere With You" by Kenny Chesney, which I am pretty sure I like better than Kenny's version! Check it out and let me know what you all think!!!

Bargain Shopping!!!!

There's nothing I like more than getting great products for amazing prices. That is why I always check the clearance sections of EVERY store I go to in pretty much every section. That would be how I was able to get these great toys for my nephew at 50% off or more, which will be used for some of his Christmas gifts.

Retail Price: $39.99

Paid: $9.99

This toy is actually for ages 3+ and my nephew won't even be two by Christmas, but this was too good of a deal to pass up. I will just save it until next Christmas :)

Retail Price: $22.99

Paid: $10.99

This one is ages 18 months and up so he actually will be receiving this one for Christmas this year :)

Retail Price: $19.99

Paid: $9.99

My nephew absolutely LOVES Sesame Street and he was with me when I bought this. He played with it for a long time and then threw it in the back of the cart. He will actually hand you back the toys that he doesn't want so if he throws it in the cart that's a good sign :).

I was also able to get some AMAZING deals on books at Borders since they are closing. Let me tell you, I am pretty sad that they are going out of business, but that doesn't stop me from snagging up the good deals while I can.

Got both of these books for only $3.59 each!

The Cars book actually has 4 jigsaw puzzles inside, plus the sliding puzzle on front.

The recipes in the cook book look absolutely delicious too!

Each of these books cost me only $2.99 each.

The Baby Animals book is a really nice board book too so my nephew won't be able to tear the pages.

This book was 60% off so it only cost me $2.78

I just love all of the Charlie Brown holiday specials when they come on TV so I just had to buy the books for Caden and his new baby brother. This book has stickers inside it too :)

This book was also 60% off so I only paid $3.18 for it.

 Unlike the Thanksgiving one though, this one is actually a board book so I don't have to worry about him tearing the pages.

These two cost me $2.39 each

They are both lift a flap books too.

These books were all only $1.49 each.

I actually ended up getting two of these for free, but didn't realize it until I got home and looked at the receipt. Seven of these are board book also, the only two that aren't are the two Christmas ones in the top row. Let me just say that I read the "Room for A Little One" book that is pictured in the second row and it is such a cute story. The Sponge Bob Christmas tree one is also a lift the flap book.

This book only cost me $1.19.

Not a board book, but my nephew also loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse so for $1.19, it doesn't really matter if the pages get torn.

All of these book only cost me 50 cents each!!

All of these are also board book, except for the Handy Manny one. The dinosaur ones are just too cute with the little "googly" eyes!

Total cost for all 27 books- $42.74!!!!!

Not too shabby at all huh?? Since Caden already has a bookshelf full of books at his house, all of these have found themselves a home in Caden's "room" at Aunt Nicole's house :)

I also went back to Borders last weekend and was able to get some more great deals on books for myself. Right now everything is 60-80% off and they close in the next week or two. I will definitely try to make it there again to see what kind of deals I can scrounge up!! I was able to get myself a $20 calender for next year for only $4 and some change though :)

Motivational Monday!!!

Wow haven't done a "Motivational Monday" post in ages! After falling in love with this song though, I just had to revive it! The song I am referring to is "Keep Your Head Up" by Andy Grammer and it is incredibly uplifting! Always good to have a song that can make you smile just by hearing it! I never knew what he looked like until I saw the video on YouTube, but he is pretty cute too!! Added bonus! Enjoy!!

Child of the 90's Pt. 3- HEART-THROBS!!!

Welcome to another edition of "Child of the 90s"! I do believe this will be one of my favorite posts to write about since it will take me back to the days of having crushes on adorable famous guys that I would never have a chance with, but secretly thought I might. Yes this post is all about HEART-THROBS!!! When I was younger I used to LOVE buying Tiger Beat, Teen Beat, Bop, etc and ripping out all the pin ups of my favorite guys and plastering them all over my bedroom wall. I will be honest, most of my wall was covered with two of the guys that will be mentioned below, but all of these guys were gorgeous in their own ways. If they didn't cover my wall, I am positive they covered someone elses. So scroll down and relive all of your child hood crushes. I will also post a little bit of where they are now with updated pics (if I actually can find info on them). Enjoy!!!

1. Jonathan Taylor Thomas or as I called him "JTT"

Then

Now

JTT probably owned about 95% of my bedroom wall back in his Home Improvement days. He actually had a pretty successful career in the 90s. Co-starring on Home Improvement, voicing Simba in The Lion King, and having starring roles in basically a movie a year. Now he seems to have fallen off the radar completely and according to IMDB.com, he hasn't acted since 2006. Of course there have been many rumors that he has died (untrue) and that he is gay (unknown), so I guess he is still on peoples minds. He will turn 30 this September.

2. Devon Sawa

Then

Now

Devon Sawa first entered young girls dreams after appearing in Little Giants. He then went on to have a small role in Casper (which I would fast forward just to see him!), Wild America with JTT (imagine my excitement!), Idle Hands, Slackers, the original Final Destination, and was also featured in the music video for Eminem's "Stan", among other things. Unlike JTT he has continued acting, appearing on TV series NCIS: Los Angeles and Nikita. According to IMDB he also has roles in three movies due out between now and next year. He will be 33 this year.

3. Rider Strong

Then

Now

So Boy Meets World has got to be one of the best shows from the 90s and still lives on in syndication and on DVD. Everyone loved Cory and Topanga, but Rider Strong's Shawn was definitely my fave! After wrapping BMW in 2000, Rider Strong went on to star in the movie Cabin Fever and had a recurring role in 2006 on the TV series Pepper Dennis. Now a days he and his brother write, produce, and direct movie shorts seen at film festivals everywhere. He will be 32 this year, and is still pretty good looking if you ask me!

4. Joey Lawrence

Then

Now

I first fell in love with Joey Lawrence when he was on "Blossom". That hair and his trademark "WHOA" reeled me in. I also am pretty sure his was the first cassette tape that I ever got!  Anyone else remember his music?! He has continued acting with some successful and some not so successful roles, but is currently starrting in the new ABC Family series "Melissa and Joey" with Melissa Joan Hart (or as we 90s kids know her, Clarissa and Sabrina the Teenage Witch). At 35 years old, he is still (if not better) as good looking as he was back in his "Blossom" days!

5. Luke Perry

Then

Now

Even though he was already 25 when Beverly Hills 90210 first premired, girls loved his bad boy character Dylan Walsh. I actually loved both him and Jason Priestly and can clearly remember having the Dylan and Brandon barbie dolls as a kid. He was on and off the show throughout all 10 years and is still acting today. He has been in many TV movies and has three movies scheduled for release between now and 2012. He will turn 46 this year.

6. Boy Bands

Then

Hanson

Backstreet Boys

*NSYNC

Now

Hanson

Backstreet Boys

Lets face it. Boy bands owned the radio airwaves in the late 90s. No groups dominated more than Hanson, BSB, and Nsync though. Now Hanson is still currently together and touring. BSB lost a member of their group (Kevin), but are currently touring with New Kids, making NKOTBSB (which I actually LOVE). Apparently their is also a Backstreet Boys crusie this year?! so Google that if you are interested in attending. *NSYNC of course is no longer together, but all of their members have been seen someplace or other in entertainment since breaking up. I will discuss their most popular member later.

7. Leonardo DiCaprio

Then

Now

I first remember seeing Leo as a supporting member on "Growing Pains" back in the early 90s, and of course fell in love with him after seeing "Romeo and Juliet" and "Titanic". Now Leo continues to be one of the most popular A list actors, appearing in hit movies basically every year. He will be 37 this year.

8. Mark Paul Gosselaar

Then

Now

Known best by people of my generation for playing Zack Morris on Saved by The Bell (which seems to be living on in syndication FOREVER :)). After SBTB ended, he appeared in numerous movies, including "Dead Man on Campus" which is one of my all time faves! He also had successful runs various TV shows including a four year stint in a starring role on NYPD Blue, Raising the Bar, and can currently be seen in the TNT series "Franklin & Bash". He also appeared as a guest on Jimmy Fallon as his infamous character Zack Morris, which was absolutely hilarious. If you haven't seen it be sure to YouTube it! He turned 37 this year.

9. Matthew Lawrence

Then

Now

Appearing in 1993 in Mrs. Doubtfire, he then went on to star in the TV show "Brotherly Love" in 1995 with his brothers Joey and Andy and joined the cast of "Boy Meets World" for its last three seasons in 1997, playing Shawn's long lost half-brother Jack. He recently dated "Dancing with the Stars" pro Cheryl Burke and is rumored to be a guest on his brothers new show "Melissa and Joey". I remember how hot he was when he was on BMW. Those Lawrence boys have some good genes! He turned 31 this year.

10. Justin Timberlake

Then

Now

Clearly the most successful ex-boy band member, Justin first popped onto the scene and on girls bedrooms walls everywhere when he was in the uber popular group *NSYNC. Since breaking up, Justin has had a very successful solo career and currently can be seen in TWO movies "Bad Teacher" and "Friends with Benefits". He also is one of the favorite hosts for SNL (my fave for sure). Don't know when he will be releasing more music, but he seems to have a successful career ahead of him with his acting skills. I personally remember seeing him act for the first time in the Disney movie "Model Behavior". Guess he won't be doing anymore Disney movies (unless he is voicing a character) anytime soon huh? He turned 30 this year.

So there you have it. Ten of the biggest heart-throbs of the 90s (in no particular order). Nice to see that they are still pretty good looking huh? So leave me some comments letting me know who your fave 90's guys were, who should've been on this list, and also what part 4 of the "Child of the 90s" should be about!!!